Medama-Oyaji/Portrayals
Anime First & Second At the beginning of the first anime his voice was much more higher pitched than the voice Tanonaka would use later. In both anime he is very much a doting parent always concerned for his son. In the first anime he is often scolding Kitarō while in the second he is always worried when Kitarō goes up against a strong yōkai. He proudly proclaims that Kitarō, as the last survivor of the Ghost Tribe, was born an elite among yōkai. In the first anime he is depicted keeping his pupil open when fainting and shedding tears from his entire eyeball head, but in the second anime and on he pupil is shown closing and shedding tears like an eye. Third He has many new anime original techniques, such as being able to see into the past (Ep. 2) and emitting a beam from his pupil to reveal hiding writings (Ep. 26). He tends to support the relationship between Kitarō and Yumeko and helps them along in any way he can, such as by searching for the right date spot for them (Ep. 41) or taking Nezumi-Otoko fishing so he can't disturb them (Ep. 46). This is in contrast to other adaptations where he usually opposes Kitarō's interest in human girls, as humans live at best around 100 years, meaning Kitarō would eventually be left alone and sad. His feelings may be different here because in this series Kitarō is half-human. This is the first adaptation to show Medama-Oyaji before he became just and eyeball (in a flashback in Jigoku-Hen, Ep. 6). However, it is not his banaged form from the original manga, but rather a figure with a full head of hair whose face is obscured by a futon blanket. When his wife Iwako disappeared, he cast away his normal body and became an eye in order to find her. Fourth His doting personality is on full display in this series. Anytime Kitarō is eaten by an enemy yōkai he begins crying for his son. In a more comical side to his character, whenever they go into someone else's house, he will usually bathe in their tea. Fifth In this series he serves a mascot type role and is featured a lot more in marketing and opening and ending animations. While still over protective as in the 4th anime, he has more comical elements now, such as exercising occasionally, being scared of fireworks, watching comedy shows on TV, and even making his own bad jokes. He is also more aware of current trends and fashions. While he does remark that Neko-Musume might make a good wife for Kitarō,GeGeGe no Kitarō (2007): Episode 2 whether or not he was serious is unclear, as he meddles far less in Kitarō's love life here. In a scene adapted from Yōkai Sen Monogatari, Medama-Oyaji declares to love Neko-Musume's cooking, but after she violently attacks Nezumi-Otoko for insulting her food, Medama-Oyaji hides in Kitarō's hair and says Neko-Musume would be "the wife from hell", to which Kitarō nervously agrees. This was Isamu Tanonaka's final performance as Medama-Oyaji, as he died the year after it concluded. Sixth Medama Oyaji briefly appears in the first episode as his mummy, rotting self. However, it's later revealed by Sunakake Baba how in his prime he was quite handsome: when he regains briefly his youthful body in the dream dimension of Makuragaeshi, he becomes a taller, older, prettier version of Kitarō himself, with a single red eye showing (the other covered by hair like Kitarō's empty socket), platinum-white hair and a tattered navy blue kimono instead of the tattered gakuran Kitarō usually wears. Medama Oyaji in this version is fully aware of his diminitive features, and he feels his current body robbed Kitarō of a strong parental figure, forcing him to grow too fast and burdening him to care for both, shaming him. Hakaba For the first time, Medama-Oyaji's bandaged form from the original manga is shown. Because he and Kitarō are more reflective of the ironic and slighty anarchic tone of the rental manga, Medama-Oyaji makes fewer father-like speeches here. Because of this, he actually gets angry with Kitarō from time to time and is far more verbally abusive to Nezumi-Otoko. In particular, he gets very frustrated with Kitarō's irresponsibility and his ignorance of his Ghost Tribe lineage. Live-action References Category:Character Subpage